Julius Lukeš and Jiří Macas Ranked as Top Molecular Biologists in the Czech Republic
The international portal Research.com has published its latest rankings of the most cited scientists for 2025. More than 20 researchers from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences appear among the Czech scientific elite across several disciplines. Notably, two of them – Julius Lukeš and Jiří Macas – secured leading positions in the fields of genetics and molecular biology.
Research.com rankings are based on the so-called D-index (Discipline H-index), which considers only publications and citations within a specific scientific discipline. Only top researchers with a D-index of at least 40 are included in the rankings.
Parasitologist Julius Lukeš was ranked the top molecular biologist in the Czech Republic and the second-best geneticist. His research focuses on parasitic protists and their evolution, bridging multiple disciplines including molecular biology, ecology, and evolutionary biology. Lukeš has been regularly featured in Research.com rankings and has received multiple awards. He is a fellow of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), and a foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Geneticist Jiří Macas, who studies the structure and evolution of repetitive DNA sequences in plant genomes, is the second-highest ranked molecular biologist and third in genetics in the Czech Republic. His work integrates genetics, cytogenetics, and genomics and significantly contributes to understanding repetitive elements in plant DNA. In addition, he is ranked second in the Czech Republic in the field of plant science and agronomy. Macas has been consistently listed among the top Czech researchers in the Research.com rankings and was awarded both the Genetics in Czech Republic Leader Award and the Molecular Biology in Czech Republic Leader Award in 2025.
The scientific excellence of the Biology Centre extends across a broad spectrum of biological disciplines. In the 2025 Research.com rankings, BC scientists are recognized in six additional fields, ranging from ecology and evolution to microbiology and veterinary sciences:
Biology Centre Scientists in Research.com 2025 Rankings
| Field (link) | Czech National Ranking | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular Biology | 1 | Julius Lukeš |
| 2 | Jiří Macas | |
| Genetics | 2 | Julius Lukeš |
| 3 | Jiří Macas | |
| Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine | 3 | Tomáš Scholz |
| 4 | David Modrý | |
| 5 | Martin Kváč | |
| 7 | Bohumil Sak | |
| 9 | Milan Jirků | |
| 11 | Dana Květoňová | |
| 12 | Klára J. Petrželková | |
| 16 | Roman Kuchta | |
| Biology & Biochemistry | 16 | Karel Šimek |
| Ecology & Evolution | 4 | Jan Lepš |
| 7 | Vojtěch Novotný | |
| 10 | Jan Frouz | |
| 22 | Martin Konvička | |
| 33 | Jan Kubečka | |
| 37 | Tom M. Fayle | |
| 38 | František Moravec | |
| 58 | Jiří Peterka | |
| Environmental Sciences | 9 | Jiří Kopáček |
| 21 | Josef Hejzlar | |
| Microbiology | 5 | Martin Kváč |
| Plant Science & Agronomy | 2 | Jiří Macas |
| 14 | Hendrik Küpper |
This remarkable achievement confirms the strong position of the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences not only within Czech science but also on the international stage.
